We are happy to present the fourth of BASEAK CORE Papers article series!

In this part of the series, Former Competition Board Vice President Reşit Gürpınar assess the nature of online oral hearings conducted by the Turkish Competition Authority from a legal perspective.

Please find below the brief summary and the link to our article.

The Covid-19 pandemic, which has necessitated changes in many areas around the world, has also showed some effects in terms of competition law. Within this scope, several competition authorities and jurisdictions have adopted remote working models, and made the necessary infrastructure functional. In this regard, it is noteworthy that oral hearing meetings held before competition authorities have started to be conducted remotely via different communication tools. In terms of adaptation to the ongoing pandemic in Turkey, the Turkish Competition Authority has begun to conduct online oral hearings, which were delayed for a long time. However, the said practice brings some legal questions with it considering the lack of legal basis for conducting online oral hearings and the compatibility of online oral hearings with the fundamental principles of law.

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